What's Hot: Serious protection from water, dirt, and drops. Full access to buttons, switches and camera. Includes adaptor to allow the use of headphones. Amazingly slim.

What's Not: While far less restrictive than competing waterproof cases, it is still more protection than most of us will need most of the time. Too much dead space under the screen protector makes the touchscreen less responsive.

Overview

The LifeProof Case for iPhone 4 provides a high level of protection from dirt, drops, and water. While shielding against the first two on that list has become commonplace, that last one (water) has traditionally been a tougher nut to crack, and one on which the LifeProof Case truly delivers.

Size and Fit

When I first handled the LifeProof case, I had to re-check the box to ensure that there hadn?t been some mix-up as it seemed too small, sleek, and light to be waterproof. After examining it, however, it became clear that where competitors had sought to protect your phone with brute force, the folks at LifeProof had sought a more elegant solution. This case adds almost no weight to your phone and is sleek and slim to boot; surprisingly so.

Features and Quality

The LifeProof Case is far more rugged and waterproof than it first appears. It achieves this by incorporating a waterproof gasket between the two case pieces. Once snapped together, nothing is getting inside unless you exceed the recommended tolerances or assemble it incorrectly. All switches and buttons remain accessible, and even the headphone jack can be used if you first unscrew the waterproof plug and replace it with the included screw-down waterproof headphone adaptor. They even thought to include a replacement plug in case you lose the original. The camera is also fully useable via an optical glass port built into the case. Even the docking port is accessible, although opening that tab will immediately compromise the waterproof integrity of the case.

My only complaint about the case is the screen protector, which doesn?t make good contact with the touchscreen. It?s by no means unusable; you just have to work a little harder at everything. The fact that I would even consider a completely waterproof case for everyday use, however, is a testament to how hard LifeProof has worked at providing amazing protection with only a minimal sacrifice to functionality. For you gadget junkies out there, a large number of accessories are available on their website, ranging from belt clips to arm bands, to bike mounts, and everything in between.

Style

LifeProof Case comes in black, pink, white, and purple, so there should be something for every taste. I was a bit disappointed that it didn?t come in orange or yellow, colors that I typically associate with waterproof equipment, but I guess you can?t have everything.

Summary

LifeProof Case for iPhone 4 is the lightest, sleekest waterproof case I have yet seen. In fact, it is so minimalist in its design that I didn?t believe it was waterproof until I tested it for myself in the sink overnight; something that the manufacturer recommends for everybody, by the way. While still a bit too restrictive for everyday use, it provides an amazing amount of protection for those times when you need it, while still allowing you to use every aspect of your phone. Also note that LifeProof offers a variety of accessories to use with this case including a bike mount, belt clips, armband/swimband, and general and submergible headphone adapters.